Human Growth and the Complex Society

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the analysis of the conceptions of learning (and cognition) that dominate research in several disciplines. It is argued that the traditional interpretation of learning rests on an a-cultural and Cartesian conception of human thought and action that in its practical consequences gives ideological predominance to a monocultural understanding of learning and human growth. Instead of attempting to define and describe learning in a 'neutral' sense, it is essential to explore the intertextuality between discourses on learning in order to study how learning is construed by different actors, including institutions. Conceptions of learning, knowledge and human growth are fundamentally cultural in nature, but the dominant rendering of these phenomena in scientific discourse serves to hide such differences. In this sense, scientific definitions do not just describe the world, they also provide support for a view of human growth that is deeply problematic for complex, multicultural societies.