Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Critical Reading Journal #2: The Truth and Consciousness

One of the main concepts mentioned in the reading of The Prison Notebooks by Antonio Gramsci

is that everyone is a philosopher. This idea intrigued me because I have never thought of philosophy

in that perspective before. I thought of philosophy as perspectives produced by individuals that

brought about extreme ideas to answer difficult questions. In Gramsci's concept that everyone is a

philosopher, I was also interested in the fact that he explained that everyone's general philosophy

includes language, common sense, and popular beliefs. I believe that he is making a connection

between knowledge, opinions, and personal experiences with how everyone's ideals are created.

Another concept mentioned in the reading of The Prison Notebooks is the analysis of whether to

follow the popular consciousness that is imposed externally by higher power or to critically analyse

our own actions and beliefs. I believe it is better to critically analyze your own individuals

consciousness because each individual in our society has their own personal experiences which do

affect our thoughts and actions greatly. What people of higher power do and believe in does not

always reflect what everyone else needs to do and believe in. When people possess their own critical

consciousness, I think that people must also be aware of other beliefs around them even if they do not

agree with those ideals.

In Truth and Power by Michel Foucault, the principal notion that is discussed is the relationship

between truth and power. Those who produce the truth hold the power over our society. The truth can

be reconfigured to produce more power for those who construct the truth. In my opinion, the truth is a

very tricky concept. Like Foucault mentions, the truth can be reconstructed in favor of those of a

higher status. I believe this can reinforce white dominance in our society due to the strong presence

of white power in higher classes. A problem this can potentially present is the reinforcement of

colorblind racism in our present society.

No comments:

Post a Comment