Hello all,
Below is the forwarded message of Erik's comments to my objection about
maximzing potential. He thought that he had distributed to the list, but
he only replied privately to me. When I inquired, he replied and said he
would offer some response to my next argument later on. The second
message from me (to follow this one) is my reply to Erik's reply. Iset
them up in this fashion so you don't have to figure out the order. the
order is as it appears in your in-box! (erik probably would have forwarded
everything, but i thought I would just speed things up)
Best,
Alexa
---------- Forwarded message ----------
On Sat, 12 Jun 1999, erik leipoldt wrote:
> At 12:37 10/06/99 -0700, you wrote:
>
> Alexa,
>
> I think that concepts like 'inclusion' and 'prevention', like many others
> are shaped according to the underlying beliefs and assumptions of the
> conceptualisers and practitioners, whether they are aware of them or not.
> I happen to believe that life has purpose and meaning and people have an
> intrinsic, basic need to maximise their individual potential. That means
> different potentials and goals for different people with their unique
> talents, limitations and abilities . There is a lot of diversity in that.
> I cannot really visualise what a "common apex of human potential" would
> look like. Noone can or should be forced in any way to strive towards
> their maximum potential; that has to be an individual resolve or
> encouragement. However, most people would agree that the world would be a
> better place where there are many and better opportunities, to all, to
> develop their maximum potential through decent education, material
> supports, involvement in freely given relationships, freedom from poverty,
> war etc. Whatever aspects of a person's potential would be developed when
> they use opportunities open to them is different for individuals but could
> include any or all of emotional, physical, spiritual, material,
> intellectual and whatever other potential. The individual would rise to
> their own best potential and it does perhaps not need to be defined. I
> don't see how the development of human potential in this sense is
> "similarly subject to power plays and status quo -and- is to chase one's
> tail" or that this might be "humans - being - a resource to be fattened for
> exploitation". Whose exploitation? I would think it is usually the
> undereducated, the poor, the marginalised that are exploited not those who
> have had the opportunities to develop their own potential.
>
> I should add that advocacy is only one response to inclusion and
> prevention within a range of practices and advocacy.
>
> Erik
>
>
> >Why do we have to maximize human potential? - Erik makes it sound like
> >humans are a resource to be fattened for exploitation. I think that the
> >belief that an "inclusion paradigm which holds to notions of diversity"
> >would be contradictory if it also held that human potential be maximized.
> >If all or most human beings are maximized for their potentials, then how
> >are we different and diverse? Are we then not "maximizing" all humans
> >towards a common apex of human development? Where is the diversity in
> >that??
> >
> >Perhaps I am inaccurately juxtaposing paragraphs here. In that case,
> >here's another point to consider: who gets define when and how human
> >potential is being defined or not? To suggest that prevention and
> >inclusion, two of the most controlling concepts for any liberatory theory,
> >might be reconciled along lines of yet another concept that is similarly
> >subject to power plays and status quo is to chase one's tail.
> >
> >I agree with Erik in so many other ways, especially with respect to the
> >attitude of reconciling somehow these notions of prevention and inclusion,
> >since both offer good things. Doing so seems to require some kind of
> >understanding and advocacy of people as integrated and connected with one
> >other. But I think that Paul's use of "pain" as tool for achieving this
> >end is a far more safe method, though not unproblematic, as it turns on
> >something that we all we experience in our lives, one way or another.
> >
> >
> >Best,
> >Alexa Schriempf
> >
>
>
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