"Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind." -Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, and author (1872-1970)
It would be interesting to know if those really close to him, like his several wives and children, would have agreed with this self-assessment. His daughter Katharine wrote glowingly of him, but his third wife didn't want their son even to see him after their divorce. Also, looking at his many activities, his "unbearable pity for the sufferings of mankind" seems to have remained far removed from the actual suffering of mankind.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Paulo Freire (from Information Week Daily)
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral." -- Paulo Freire
This is an excellent reminder of what it means to be powerless and therefore of the responsibility of those who have some degree of power to protect those without. It begs the question, however, whether there is a conflict between the powerful and the powerless, in any given instance. To have power, that is, to be able to cause thing to happen according to your desire, is not necessarily the same as to oppress the weak. Often those without power oppress those without, but not always.
Now some might latch onto my use of the word protect above and accuse me of a paternalistic approach, but I would deny it. With Friere I believe that in a real struggle between those with power and those without, not joining the struggle on the side of the powerless means abandoning them to defeat. Unlike Friere, perhaps, I don't believe that the only kind of relationship possible between those with power and those without is conflict.
This is an excellent reminder of what it means to be powerless and therefore of the responsibility of those who have some degree of power to protect those without. It begs the question, however, whether there is a conflict between the powerful and the powerless, in any given instance. To have power, that is, to be able to cause thing to happen according to your desire, is not necessarily the same as to oppress the weak. Often those without power oppress those without, but not always.
Now some might latch onto my use of the word protect above and accuse me of a paternalistic approach, but I would deny it. With Friere I believe that in a real struggle between those with power and those without, not joining the struggle on the side of the powerless means abandoning them to defeat. Unlike Friere, perhaps, I don't believe that the only kind of relationship possible between those with power and those without is conflict.
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