The extent to which we human beings do not achieve our potential to be creative authors of our own vision is due to the tremendous set of socialised perceptions –Truths- which promote a limited consciousness and prevent the development of critical awareness of the natural phenomenon of which we are an integral part and the dynamic, dialectic interaction which defines the relationship with our environment. Our truths function, ultimately, to prevent our self actualisation as individuals and in groups.
Murphy B: Transforming ourselves, transforming the world: An open conspiracy for social change, 1999 London: Zed Books
However, there is more to it than this. If we are a microcosm of the whole, then we have to seek balance and well-being within ourselves, since our own consciousness is interrelated to what is outside ourselves. So it is not just about re-visioning ourselves in relation to the whole, it is being whole in ourselves, in relation to the different parts of ourselves and the community of which we are a part. It is about being critically reflexive and critically engaged in the world on an inner and outer dimension.
In these ways, I see a participatory worldview as not simply an approach to practice – it is a way of life. We can not engage people in our working relation in a mutual, equal way, only to be abusive or exploitative in other contexts of our lives. This is duplicitous and simply does not work. Our value base provides the foundation of practice. For example, the concept of dialogue cannot be applied to practice without a profound understanding of the way that values of respect, dignity and human worth enable it to become an engagement that is mutual and reciprocal, one based on corporation rather than competition, based on humility rather than arrogance. This may seem a simple idea, but consider the way that arrogance is part of every day life in the West, encouraged as a form of status in competitive, top-down world. And arrogance is a form of bullying, an acting out of superiority that reflects dominant power relations. In order to ensure that superiority is not unconsciously acted out in dialogue as a form of power over others, we pay attention to. A self-reflexive approach to self-consciousness helps us to go deeper into understanding of personal power: who am I, in my maleness, femaleness, in my profession, in my middle classness, in my Whiteness…and how is this experienced by those who are other. An understanding of the way we express our values in relationships is vital to the process of liberation.
Partnerships cannot be mutual unless all parties believe they have as much to learn from each other as they have to give. In this sense, Freire saw mutuality in horizontal relations; co-learners, co-teachers, co-researchers working as true partners in the process of liberation.
Murphy B: Transforming ourselves, transforming the world: An open conspiracy for social change, 1999 London: Zed Books
However, there is more to it than this. If we are a microcosm of the whole, then we have to seek balance and well-being within ourselves, since our own consciousness is interrelated to what is outside ourselves. So it is not just about re-visioning ourselves in relation to the whole, it is being whole in ourselves, in relation to the different parts of ourselves and the community of which we are a part. It is about being critically reflexive and critically engaged in the world on an inner and outer dimension.
In these ways, I see a participatory worldview as not simply an approach to practice – it is a way of life. We can not engage people in our working relation in a mutual, equal way, only to be abusive or exploitative in other contexts of our lives. This is duplicitous and simply does not work. Our value base provides the foundation of practice. For example, the concept of dialogue cannot be applied to practice without a profound understanding of the way that values of respect, dignity and human worth enable it to become an engagement that is mutual and reciprocal, one based on corporation rather than competition, based on humility rather than arrogance. This may seem a simple idea, but consider the way that arrogance is part of every day life in the West, encouraged as a form of status in competitive, top-down world. And arrogance is a form of bullying, an acting out of superiority that reflects dominant power relations. In order to ensure that superiority is not unconsciously acted out in dialogue as a form of power over others, we pay attention to. A self-reflexive approach to self-consciousness helps us to go deeper into understanding of personal power: who am I, in my maleness, femaleness, in my profession, in my middle classness, in my Whiteness…and how is this experienced by those who are other. An understanding of the way we express our values in relationships is vital to the process of liberation.
Partnerships cannot be mutual unless all parties believe they have as much to learn from each other as they have to give. In this sense, Freire saw mutuality in horizontal relations; co-learners, co-teachers, co-researchers working as true partners in the process of liberation.
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