[xmca] Re: Incorporating "reflexivity" as a central concept

[Larry Purss <lpscholar2@gmail.com>]

I wanted to add Archer's concern with what she refers to as "hydraulic"
metaphors whether social or psychological.  Hydraulic metaphors privilege
"pushes and pulls" as DETERMINATIVE effects and from Archer's perspective
are reductive. They leave no room for agency or what she refers to as
"reflexivity"
Shotter's exploring what he calls the "temporal shape" or rhythum of
"co-regulating" dynamics as "tasks" that are emergent and not "abilities"
that are finished projects also seems relevant to the
exploration of the contours of reflexivity
He refers to Ryle's work contrasting "achievement verbs" with "task verbs"
Task verbs express a sequence of action TOWARDS a destination. [for example
"trying"] Achievement verbs point to the arrival at the destination [for
example "are"]

Shotter's exploring the moment by moment movement within utterences as
"movement" speaks to the "task" of dialogical utterances.  Archer's project
is exploring the "inner dialogical conversation" which she terms
"reflexivity"

LINKING Shotter and Archer's notions of dialogical co-regulation and
Archer's notion's of self-regulation as a developmental emergence of
"agency" in the ongoing engagements within "tasks" that have a definite
"temporal shape" also seems to be a concept that V. Zinchenko was exploring.

Just further musings

Larry
On Sat, Nov 26, 2011 at 7:42 AM, Larry Purss <lpscholar2@gmail.com> wrote:

> I've been wondering about the relaion of "tacit" knowing to "reflexive"
> knowing.
> Christine, mentioned exploring Margaret Archer's work on the centrality of
> the concept of reflexivity to her work in sociology.
>
> Using  the technological access of the kindle allows wondering around
> within the first chapter of multiple books to decide which books are worth
> reading in depth.
>
> Christine mentioned Archer's book "Becoming Human" but she has also
> written a book "Making Our Way Through the World: Human Reflexivity and
> Social Mobility" which explores liquid modernity through ist person
> narratives of finding meaningful work and needing to be mobile to find work.
>
> Through these ist person narratives she is developing her central focus on
> "human reflexivity"
>
> She locates reflexivity developmentally as an EMERGING PERSONAL power of
> individuals that takes place within "internal conversation."  I wonder
> where to locate this developing capacity for reflexivity within the
> background reality of "tacit" knowing but that is a larger contextual
> question.  The tacit knowledge is as central to becoming human as is the
> question of EMERGING reflexivity.  However, Archer's exploration of the
> centrality of reflexivity [once developed] is central to her project.
> Archer's project is to bring back the centrality of human reflexivity into
> the conversation once it has developed as a capacity.  She believes
> reflexivity has been generally disregarded and is NOT entailed by routine
> or habitual action. [which is also central as an aspect of dwelling in the
> world]
>
> Reflexivity for Archer is asking how central is the process of "internal
> conversation" to our proceeding in the world?  The following definition is
> how Archer uses the term reflexivity.
>
> "Reflexivity is the regular exercise of the mental ability, shared by all
> normal people, to consider themselves in relation to their (social)
> contexts and vice versa.  Archer in this book is exploring the concrete
> question of the place of reflexivity in deliberating on people's
> occupational concerns and patterns of social mobility as a way of exploring
> the centrality of reflexivity in becoming human.
>
> Last comment. Reflexivity for Archer is a heterogeneous term. One
> example.  She suggests Mead's I-Me constellates a "looking backwards"
> reflexivity [180 degree turn]  Pierce's I-YOU constellates a anticipatory
> "looking forward" 180 degree turn.  COMBINING both Mead and Pierce develops
> a 360 degree circle of reflexivity.
>
> That still leaves the ambivalence between habitual tacit processes and
> reflexivity [structure and agency] but Archer has an interesting project
> shes pursuing.
>
> Archer has also edited a book "Conversations About Reflexivity Ontological
> Explorations" which brings 11 other authors into the conversation.
>
> Larry
>
>
>
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