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Freedom
Praxis is the combination of reflecting and acting on the world in order to change it. While human beings seek the freedom to understand and change their conditions, praxis refers to the concrete work of doing so. Oppressed people can use praxis to become more critically aware of their conditions and to begin fighting for liberation; in fact, Freire argues that liberation itself is a kind of praxis.
Praxis Quotes in Pedagogy of the Oppressed
The Pedagogy of the Oppressed quotes below are all either spoken by Praxis or refer to Praxis. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Preface
Quotes
Thought and study alone did not produce Pedagogy of the Oppressed; it is rooted in concrete situations and describes the reactions of laborers (peasant or urban) and of middle-class persons whom I have observed directly or indirectly during the course of my educative work.
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Chapter 2
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For apart from inquiry, apart from the praxis, individuals cannot be truly human. Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.
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Chapter 3
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To exist, humanly, is to name the world, to change it. Once named, the world in its turn reappears to the namers as a problem and requires of them a new naming. Human beings are not built in silence, but in word, in work, in action-reflection.
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Praxis Term Timeline in Pedagogy of the Oppressed
The timeline below shows where the term Praxis appears in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...and human action can change it for the future. These changes can only occur through “praxis,” the combination of reflection and action aimed at transforming the world. When only one occurs,...
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Chapter 2
...problematic because it stifles creativity, and does not encourage students to ask new questions through praxis.
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Chapter 3
...the previous chapter. He asserts that dialogue primarily consists of “the word”—which he equates with praxis, the combination of reflection and action. When reflection is not paired with action, it becomes...
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...between the dialoguers; Freire argues that this trust consists of reflection and action, just like praxis.
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...not permanent and can be overcome. Freire, in turn, sees history as the result of praxis, reflecting and acting on the world in order to change it. He divides history into...
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Chapter 4
...people create changes in their culture and society. He starts by reiterating the need for praxis (combined reflection and action) and argues that praxis requires theory (a critical framework) in order...
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...to theorize methods for domination. This theory of dialogical action is the direct result of praxis and dialogue among the oppressed and leaders, with the goal of humanizing all people.
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