RE: false consciousness: real and virtual worlds

From: Eugene Matusov (ematusov@udel.edu)
Date: Fri Dec 26 2003 - 10:41:50 PST


Dear Mike-

Thanks for an inspirational note. Rational comes also from "ratio": weighing
different parts and assigning their relative values. We confronted with
"false consciousness" in others often do not know what they weigh and how. I
think co-weighing and co-rationalization can be a good remedy to "false
consciousness".

I'm much less enthusiastic to
> false conscious=mediated
> consciousness, where the local, personally experienced and "rumored"
> experience (e.g., experienced through talk with others, the mass media,
> etc.)

Being also raised on situated cognition research (besides Il'enkov: I have
many caregivers :-) I become respectful to personal experience and JPF
models. I also become suspicious to technical theories as privileged modes
of knowing....

Just one example. Educational research shows that so-called social promotion
when an academically failing student is allowed to transfer to another grade
is statistically more beneficial then retention. However, anecdotal data
suggests success and failure can go either way. For a teacher who has to
make a specific decision with a specific failing student under specific
institutional and family circumstances, this research is not much help.
Although for a policy maker managing many cases and forcing to make some
arbitrary cuts, this research can be helpful.

What do you think?

Eugene

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Cole [mailto:mcole@weber.ucsd.edu]
> Sent: Friday, December 26, 2003 12:10 PM
> To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> Subject: RE: false consciousness: real and virtual worlds
>
> Perhaps, Eugene, in light of Jay's remarks, false conscious=mediated
> consciousness, where the local, personally experienced and "rumored"
> experience (e.g., experienced through talk with others, the mass media,
> etc.) have to be resolved. Such a resolution has little hope of being
> "rational" in the sense of veridical. Rational, after all, is the result
> of a process of "rationalization." Interesting how the meanings of the
> two terms contradict each other.
> mike



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