Critical Consciousness and its affect on Life-worlds: An introduction to Epos Prints a theoretical concept

1. Critical Consciousness and its affect on Life-worlds: An introduction to Epos Prints a theoretical concept By Ignacio IV Lopez National-Louis University 2006

2. What is a Life-world? • A life-world contains those experiences, phenomena, and objects (social and material) that are salient to the acting individual. • Life-worlds are essentially connected to an individuals identity and are unique to the individual (like a thumb print is unique to an individual).

3. What forms life-worlds? • “Life-worlds” contain experiences, phenomena and objects that are salient to an acting individual and can develop as part of goals (intentionally) or as a requisite effectively set (unintentionally). • Experiences, phenomena, and objects that are salient can then be labeled as Epos.

4. Formation of Epos prints • Life-worlds are essentially created out of life-world prints. If my argument is that critical consciousness should be taken into account when studying life-worlds then the actual framework and development of a life-world must be broken down to its individual components. For this purpose I have named the individual components Epos. The name stems from the life world definition, “life-worlds contains, experiences, phenomena and objects (social and material) which are salient to an acting individual…”

5. Definition of Epos • The term epos stems from the definition of life-world • Epos coincidentally in poetry is defined as a group of poems transmitted orally, concerned with parts of a common epic or theme. An epic being a long narrative poem usually centered around a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events are narrated. • Both definitions include the idea of tying a series of events together and developing or defining one’s identity.

6. Formation of Epos’: A life-world print For instructional purposes. The more Epos’ an instructor is aware of the more effective he can be in his instruction to the Individual because he can step into a Student’s life-world. The Life-World Circle Epos’ fuse together creating a unique individual Life-world. Like a human thumb print. No human thumb print is the same. No human Epos print is the same. From the physical Surface we see An individual, with an Identity created from Multiple-multidimensional Experiences, objects, & Phenomena's.

7. Case study • 34-year-old woman • Single • No children • Experiences sharp lower abdominal pains • Sees doctor • Doctors tells woman “you have a bladder infection” • Woman falls into state of depression because she thinks she can never have children. • Why? • The answer to her reaction lies within the creation and fusion of her epos’.

8. Fusing of epos’ in case study Physical real world state 34-yr-old w/ no children. She really wants kids! Reads on the internet Bladder infections Can cause women to Never have children. Read 5 years ago She has a younger Sister with one child, And a child on the Way. Real life lower Abdominal pains Real life doctor Visit – heard Diagnosis (bladder infection) Unsteady boyfriend, He has no clear future And no desire to Marry her Life-world Circle

9. Life-world Transmitting Identity, personality or Mood – to the real physical world Life-World Circle Fusion of epos’ In this case what is being transmitted from The woman is anxiety and depression

10. Life-world Transmitting Identity, personality or Mood – addition of new epos changing mood Life-World Circle Fusion of epos’ In this case what is being transmitted from The woman is anxiety and depression

11. Types of Critical ConsciousnessFreire(1973) • Semi-intransitive consciousness • Magical consciousness • Naïve transitivity Fanaticized Consciousness Case study falls under here. Fanaticized Consciousness: The distortion of reason makes men irrational

12. Csikszentmihalyi (1997) - Flow “Learning to manage one’s goals is an important step in achieving excellence in everyday life. To do so, however, does not involve either the extreme of spontaneity on the one hand, or compulsive control on the other. The best solution might be to understand the roots of one’s motivation while recognizing the biases involved in one’s desires, in all humbleness to choose goals that will prove order in one’s consciousnesses without causing too much disorder in the social or material environment.”