This study proposes and examines the theory that ownership of knowledge is central to overcoming alienation. This theory says that we are not alienated from ourselves, the products of our work, our social relations or non-human objects, per se, we are alienated from our knowledge of ourselves, from our knowledge of the products of our work, from our knowledge of our social relations and/or from our knowledge of non-human objects. Acquiring personal ownership of knowledge requires a reflective critique of present knowledge combined with actions consistent with that criticized self-reflected knowledge. / The dissertation, however, does not begin with this assertion. It begins with an analysis of the theories of Karl Marx, Jurgen Habermas, Paulo Freire and other alienation theorists. That analysis leads to the hypothesis that the environment in which to gain ownership of knowledge and thus to overcome alienation is Habermas's "ideal speech situation". / Accordingly, the components of this ideal are delineated and measures of them are devised. The components of the ideal environment for discourse are the following: freedom from external and internal constraints, self-reflective critique of knowledge, utilization of that criticized knowledge, consistency of the environment with both communicative rationality and consensus-building. Three participatory environments depicted in the literature are assessed to determine the degree to which they incorporate these components. / Each of the environments appears to approximate that ideal. In other words, they seem to be effective in helping participants overcome alienation. As with all theory building efforts, further research to verify these constructs is in order. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-03, Section: A, page: 0797. / Major Professor: Peter Easton. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77385 |
| Contributors | Phelan Penner, Mary Anne., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 164 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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