Brock asks, "Why object to unlearning?" and goes on to ask "Isn't the
term the same as recombination, etc?"
My answer is, in a vague and general way they can be seen as the
same. But then, my question is, "What happens to the meaning of
learning?" By what I mean by learning and by what I'm wanting to
engage people in exploring in that area, the idea of "unlearning"
must have implications for learning and its processses.
In my early participation on this list, I attempted to make some of
my approach clear and generate some interest. Not much interest
occurred so I've dropped it. But I can only make my point here by
recalling a bit of that background. While I frequently refer to
complexity (as a shorthand for complex adaptive systems which I use
as a generic term for my more specific interest in intelligence), an
important background work that I'm engaged in is lingusitic and
philosophical.
I consider that we are creating languages or ways of communicating
and that life occurs within these practices. All of social life and,
therefor, a great deal of personal life occurs in practices of
language, in my approach. Deconstructionism, postmodernism and
hermeneutics - referred to by Don Lavoie as interpretive philosophy -
are a fundamental part of my approach.
It is from this perpsective that I do not like "unlearning". I can't
create the distinctions of learning that I want with any meaningful
use of unlearning.
This is meant to clarify my thinking and offer some possible
approaches rather than to change your thinking, or have you "unlearn
the term unlearning".
--Michael McMaster : Michael@kbddean.demon.co.uk book cafe site : http://www.vision-nest.com/BTBookCafe Intelligence is the underlying organisational principle of the universe. Heraclitus
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>