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Praxis(process)Wikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Praxis(process)
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Praxisistheprocessbywhichatheory,lesson,orskillis
enacted,embodied,orrealised."Praxis"mayalsorefertothe
actofengaging,applying,exercising,realizing,orpracticing
ideas.Thishasbeenarecurrenttopicinthefieldof
philosophy,discussedinthewritingsofPlato,Aristotle,St.
Augustine,ImmanuelKant,SrenKierkegaard,KarlMarx,
MartinHeidegger,HannahArendt,PauloFreire,Ludwigvon
Mises,andmanyothers.Ithasmeaninginthepolitical,
educational,andspiritualrealms.

Contents

So,Itriedtodoakindofsemantic
clarificationinwhichpraxisifnotonthe
thithersideofthisdividewasperhaps
somehowbetweenthetheoreticalandthe
practicalastheyaregenerallyunderstood,and
particularlyastheyareunderstoodinmodern
philosophy.Praxisasthemannerinwhichwe
areengagedintheworldandwithothershas
itsowninsightorunderstandingpriortoany
explicitformulationofthatunderstanding...Of
course,itmustbeunderstoodthatpraxis,asI
understandit,isalwaysentwinedwith
communication.
CalvinO.Schrag[1]

1Origins
2Marxism
3HannahArendt
4Education
5Spirituality
6Seealso
7Notes
8Furtherreading
9Externallinks

Origins
InAncientGreekthewordpraxis()referredtoactivityengagedinbyfreemen.Aristotleheldthat
therewerethreebasicactivitiesofman:theoria,poiesisandpraxis.Therecorrespondedtothesekindsof
activitythreetypesofknowledge:theoretical,towhichtheendgoalwastruthpoietical,towhichtheend
goalwasproductionandpractical,towhichtheendgoalwasaction.Aristotlefurtherdividedpractical
knowledgeintoethics,economicsandpolitics.Healsodistinguishedbetweeneupraxia(,"good
praxis")[2]anddyspraxia(,"badpraxis,misfortune").[3]

Marxism
The19thcenturysocialistAntonioLabriolacalledMarxismthe"philosophyofpraxis".[4][5]This
descriptionofMarxismwouldappearagaininAntonioGramsci'sPrisonNotebooks[6]andthewritingsof
themembersoftheFrankfurtSchool.[7]

HannahArendt
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InTheHumanCondition,HannahArendtarguesthatWesternphilosophytoooftenhasfocusedonthe
contemplativelife(vitacontemplativa)andhasneglectedtheactivelife(vitaactiva).Thishasledhumanity
tofrequentlymissmuchoftheeverydayrelevanceofphilosophicalideastoreallife.[8][9]ForArendt,praxis
isthehighestandmostimportantleveloftheactivelife.[9]Thus,shearguesthatmorephilosophersneedto
engageineverydaypoliticalactionorpraxis,whichsheseesasthetruerealizationofhumanfreedom.[8]
AccordingtoArendt,ourcapacitytoanalyzeideas,wrestlewiththem,andengageinactivepraxisiswhat
makesusuniquelyhuman.
InMaurizioPasserind'Etreves'sestimation,"Arendt'stheoryofactionandherrevivaloftheancientnotion
ofpraxisrepresentoneofthemostoriginalcontributionstotwentiethcenturypoliticalthought....
Moreover,byviewingactionasamodeofhumantogetherness,Arendtisabletodevelopaconceptionof
participatorydemocracywhichstandsindirectcontrasttothebureaucratizedandelitistformsofpoliticsso
characteristicofthemodernepoch."[10]

Education
Praxisisusedbyeducatorstodescribearecurringpassagethroughacyclicalprocessofexperiential
learning,suchasthecycledescribedandpopularisedbyDavidA.Kolb.[11]
PauloFreiredefinespraxisinPedagogyoftheOppressedas"reflectionandactiondirectedatthestructures
tobetransformed."[12]Throughpraxis,oppressedpeoplecanacquireacriticalawarenessoftheirown
condition,and,withtheirallies,struggleforliberation.[13]Schoolsofcommunityeducationorfreeschools
looselybasedinanarchismorotherantielitistphilosophiesandperspectivesoftenrelyheavilyonpraxis,
particularlyasinfluencedbyFreire.
IntheChannel4televisiondocumentary"NewOrder:PlayAtHome",[14][15]FactoryRecordsownerTony
Wilsondescribespraxisas"doingsomething,andthenonlyafterwards,findingoutwhyyoudidit".
Praxismaybedescribedasaformofcriticalthinkingandcomprisesthecombinationofreflectionand
action.Praxiscanbeviewedasaprogressionofcognitiveandphysicalactions:Takingtheaction
ConsideringtheimpactsoftheactionAnalysingtheresultsoftheactionbyreflectinguponitAltering
andrevisingconceptionsandplanningfollowingreflectionImplementtheseplansinfurtheractionsThis
createsacyclewhichcanbeviewedintermsofeducationalsettings,learnersandeducationalfacilitators.
ScottandMarshall(2009)refertopraxisasaphilosophicaltermreferringtohumanactiononthenatural
andsocialworld.Furthermore,Gramsci(1999)emphasisesthepowerofpraxisinSelectionsfromthe
PrisonNotebooksbystatingthatThephilosophyofpraxisdoesnottendtoleavethesimpleintheir
primitivephilosophyofcommonsensebutrathertoleadthemtoahigherconceptionoflife.Torevealthe
inadequaciesofreligion,folklore,intellectualismandothersuchonesidedformsofreasoning,Gramsci
appealsdirectlyinhislaterworktoMarxsphilosophyofpraxis,describingitasaconcretemodeof
reasoning.Thisprincipallyinvolvesthejuxtapositionofadialecticalandscientificauditofrealityagainst
allexistingnormative,ideological,andthereforecounterfeitaccounts.Essentiallyaphilosophybasedon
apractise,Marxsphilosophy,isdescribedcorrespondinglyinthismanner,astheonlyphilosophythat
isatthesametimeahistoryinactionoralifeitself(Gramsci,HoareandNowellSmith,1972,p.332).

Spirituality
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praxis_(process)

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Seealso:Praxis(EasternOrthodoxy)
Praxisisalsokeyinmeditationandspirituality,whereemphasisisplacedongainingfirsthandexperience
ofconceptsandcertainareas,suchasunionwiththeDivine,whichcanonlybeexploredthroughpraxisdue
totheinabilityofthefinitemind(anditstool,language)tocomprehendorexpresstheinfinite.Inan
interviewforYES!Magazine,MatthewFoxexplaineditthisway:
WisdomisalwaystasteinbothLatinandHebrew,thewordforwisdomcomesfromthewordfor
tastesoit'ssomethingtotaste,notsomethingtotheorizeabout."TasteandseethatGodisgood,"
thepsalmsaysandthat'swisdom:tastinglife.Noonecandoitforus.Themysticaltraditionisvery
muchaSophiatradition.Itisabouttastingandtrustingexperience,beforeinstitutionordogma.[16]
AccordingtoStrong'sHebrewdictionary,theHebrewword,taam,isproperlyataste,thatis,
(figuratively)perceptionbyimplicationintelligencetransitivelyamandate:advice,behaviour,decree,
discretion,judgment,reason,taste,understanding.

Seealso
Praxis(disambiguation)(forotherusesofthewordpraxis)
Christiantheologicalpraxis
Lexartis
Anathem
PraxisDiscussionSeries
Praxisintervention
Praxisschool
Praxeology
Practice(socialtheory)
Orthopraxy

Notes
1. Ramsey,RamseyEricMiller,DavidJames(2003).Experiencesbetweenphilosophyandcommunication:
engagingthephilosophicalcontributionsofCalvinO.Schrag(http://books.google.com/books?
id=Id7NornoMI8C).SUNYPress.p.21.ISBN9780791458754.Retrieved1August2010.
2. Aristotle,NE,VI,5,1140b7.
3. Krancberg,Sigmund(1994),ASovietPostmortem:PhilosophicalRootsofthe"GrandFailure"
(http://books.google.gr/books?id=cmspK8ine2QC&pg=PA56&dq=),Rowman&Littlefield,p.56.
4. JosephFrancese,PerspectivesonGramsci:Politics,CultureandSocialTheory(https://books.google.gr/books?
id=DnB4AgAAQBAJ&dq=),Routledge,2009,p.59.
5. MarxalludedtothisconceptinhisThesesonFeuerbachwhenhestatedthat"philosophershaveonlyinterpreted
theworldinvariouswaysthepointistochangeit."
6. JosephFrancese,PerspectivesonGramsci:Politics,CultureandSocialTheory(https://books.google.gr/books?
id=DnB4AgAAQBAJ&dq=),Routledge,2009,p.2.
7. MaxHorkheimer(StanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy)(http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/horkheimer/)
8. Yar,Majid,"HannahArendt(19061975)"(http://www.iep.utm.edu/arendt/),TheInternetEncyclopediaof
Philosophy.
9. Fry,Karin,"Arendt,Hannah"(http://www.womenphilosophers.com/Arendt.html)inWomenphilosophers.com.
10. d'Entreves,MaurizioPasserin(2006),"HannahArendt"(http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/arendt/#AreTheAct),
StanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy.
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11. Kolb,D.,"DavidA.Kolbonexperientiallearning"(http://www.infed.org/biblio/bexplrn.htm),Informal
EducationEncyclopedia.
12. Freire,P.(1970),PedagogyoftheOppressed.BloomsburyAcademy,p.126.
13. Freire,P.(1986),PedagogyoftheOppressed.NewYork:Continuum,p.36.
14. http://www.mojo4music.com/4831/newordersnaked80sartexperiment/
15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyk5FwrbcgQ
16. HolyImpatience:aninterviewwithMatthewFox(http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1323),YES!
Magazine.

Furtherreading
PauloFreire(1970),PedagogyoftheOppressed,ContinuumInternationalPublishingGroup.

Externallinks
ThedictionarydefinitionofpraxisatWiktionary
Entryfor"praxis"attheEncyclopaediaofInformalEducation(http://www.infed.org/biblio/b
praxis.htm)
DerBegriffPraxis(http://kaltric.de/mat/matphil/derbegriffpraxis/)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Praxis_(process)&oldid=666590451"
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