Consciousness on the Side of the

Oppressed

Ofelia Schutte

Liberation at the Point of Intersection

Between Philosophy and Theology • Two Key Philosophers:

Paulo Freire Gustavo Gutiérrez

(Brazilian Educator) (Peruvian Priest)

Schutte On Theology and Philosophy:

• “Theology and philosophy can work together in many instances to provide methods of critical analysis and models for practical action whose goals are to defend the cultural, political, and economic integrity of the people of the region.” (pp.173-4)

Freire: The Beginning Point

• “I consider the fundamental theme of our epoch to be that of domination, …which implies its opposite, the theme of liberation, as the objective to be achieved.” (p.141)

• Freire’s foundation is “Christian humanism” and his point of reference is as an educator – fighting ignorance as a method of restoration of personhood and regaining subjectivity in lieu of accepting one’s status as an object to be dominated.

Freire: On Dialogues and Dyads

• For Freire, there are two comparable dyads:

▫ Students & teacher

▫ The people (el pueblo) & the revolutionary leader

• The relationship in both cases must be a dialogic “encounter” free from the “dynamics of oppression” and driven by a “cointentional” perspective which produces “conscientization” (conscientização). (p.142)

Freire: On Dialogues

• “Human existence cannot be

silent, nor can it be nourished by false words, but only by true words, with which men transform the world.” (p.142)

• Schutte maintains that this quote reflects Freire’s “Christian overtones”

Freire: Critical Thinking not

Authoritarian Dogmatism • “Dialogue cannot occur

between…those who deny other men the right to speak their word….” (p.142)

• “…the dialogue cannot be reduced to the act of one person’s ‘depositing’ ideas in another nor can it become a simple exchange of ideas to be ‘consumed’ by the discussants.” (ibid.)

Freire: The Pedagogy

• “Freire invites the teacher’s expertise and authority to be placed in a broader perspective, within a larger view that takes into account some important needs of the students. Among the latter are the capacity to challenge authority, the capacity to use creativity in the service of learning, the capacity, as he says to ‘name’ the world they see from their particular standpoint.” (p. 145)

Freire: On Communion & Leadership

• For Freire, the ideal relationship between both the students and the teacher as well as with the people and the revolutionary leader is one of “communion.”

Freire: On Communion & Leadership

• Freire cited Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara as the model of this relationship between the people and the revolutionary leader – it is to be a “grass-roots” movement.

Schutte: Some Concerns & Questions

• On the leader Schutte asks the following questions: ▫ How does one establish the authenticity of the leader

without reference to authority? ▫ How does the leader avoid a paternalistic relationship

with the people? ▫ “How does the leader make decisions in a state of

communion with the people?” (p.148) ▫ “How does he limit his power so that they can be

free?” (ibid.)

• On the communion model Schutte asks the following question: ▫ “Why is the term ‘the people’ (el pueblo) used in this

type of discourse to refer to a relatively homogenous block of social agents, thus ignoring both the heterogeneous composition as well as the diversity of interests of this group?” (ibid.)

Gutiérrez: The Birth of Liberation

Theology

• The foundation of this trend can be found in the mission statement prepared in the 1979 Puebla, Mexico gathering of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM):

• “In a word, our people yearn for a full and integral liberation, one not confined to the realm of temporal existence. It extends beyond that to full communion with God and with one’s brothers and sisters in eternity. And that communion is already beginning to be realized, however imperfectly, in history.” (p.151)

Gutiérrez: The Purpose of Liberation

Theology

• “Our purpose is not to elaborate an ideology to justify postures already taken….It is to reconsider the great themes of the Christian life within this radically changed perspective and with regard to the new questions posed by this commitment. This is the goal of the so-called theology of liberation.” (p.152)

Gutiérrez: On Liberation Theology

• For Gutiérrez, the theology of liberation is: ▫ “situated within the problematic of

liberation and cultural identity” (p.152)

▫ Gutiérrez focuses the process explicitly on Latin America while not ignoring the universal aspect of the quest.

▫ He sees Marxism and religion as not inherently or necessarily contradictory.

Gutiérrez: On Theology and Philosophy

• “What Antonio Gramsci said of philosophy is also true of theology; ‘It is necessary to destroy the widely held prejudice that philosophy is something extremely difficult because it is the intellectual activity proper to a certain category of scientific specialists or professional and systematic philosophers. It is necessary, therefore, to demonstrate first, that all men are ‘philosophers,’ establishing the parameters and characteristics of this ‘spontaneous philosophy’ proper to ‘everyman.’” (p. 153)

▫ Antonio Gramsci

Gutiérrez: Three Senses of Liberation

1) “…liberation expresses the aspirations of oppressed peoples and social classes, emphasizing the conflictual aspect of the economic, social, and political process which puts them at odds with wealthy nations and oppressing classes….” (p. 154)

Gutiérrez: Three Senses of Liberation

2) “At a deeper level, liberation can be applied to an understanding of all history. Man is seen as assuming conscious responsibility for his own destiny….” (p. 154)

Gutiérrez: Three Senses of Liberation

3) “Finally…the word liberation [in contrast to development] allows for another approach leading to the Biblical sources which inspire the presence and action of man in history. In the Bible, Christ is presented as the one who brings us liberation.” (p. 154)

Gutiérrez: On Underdevelopment and

Development • Regarding the first sense of liberation, Gutiérrez

recognizes the work of economists citing the relationship between developed and underdeveloped nations: ▫ “the dynamics of world economics leads simultaneously to

the creation of greater wealth for the few and greater poverty for the many.” (p.154)

▫ “…underdevelopment occurs as the end result of development.” (pp.154-5)

• For Gutiérrez, the solution is to move “toward a more human, socialist economy in which the gap between the rich and the poor ceases to exist.” (p.155) Here we can see the Marxist influence on the economic liberation advocated by Gutiérrez.

Gutiérrez: On Material and Spiritual

Poverty • For Gutiérrez, there is a big distinction between

these two senses of poverty – the first is to be resolved while the second should be embraced. He defines them as follows:

▫ Material poverty is linked to “a sense of deprivation” (p. 156)

▫ Spiritual poverty is “the attitude of emptying oneself (from selfishness) so that one can more properly receive the Word of God.” It is “opening up to God.” (ibid.)

Gutiérrez: On the Theology of

Liberation • By making the previous distinction between the two

senses of poverty, and in focusing on the second – spiritual poverty – Gutiérrez can now link the work of liberation to the work of theology. Schutte explains: ▫ “In this way, the Christian who takes up the option for the

poor is simultaneously taking up the struggle for political liberation, understood from a class perspective. And, similarly, those non-Christians who join the political struggle for liberation on behalf of the exploited classes are living up to the Christian ideals of sisterhood and brotherhood as they acquire a new historical meaning for individuals in societies that have become impoverished by economic and political systems favoring the wealthy.” (p.157)

Gutiérrez: On the Theology of

Liberation • This means that the Church must position itself

as of the people and by the people – it can function as the core of a grass-roots movement whereby the people work together to achieve their own social liberation.

Gutiérrez: On the Theology of

Liberation • “Finally, the process of liberation requires the active

participation of the oppressed; this is certainly one of the most important themes running through the writings of the Latin American Church. Based on the evidence of the usually frustrated aspirations of the popular classes to participate in decisions which affect all of society, the realization emerges that it is the poor who must be the protagonists of their own liberation….” (p.167)