Becoming capable, being recognised

This is the title of an article written by philosopher Paul Ricoeur (July 2005). He describes ‘the power to act’ as ‘the ability to produce events’, to transform them by introducing ‘human contingency, uncertainty and unpredictability into the course of events’.

Therefore, how much recognition should be given to such a capacity for transformation in a society that institutes control as a value? What value should be attributed to humans, whose nature is to initiate, invent and give new form? How much trust should we place in those who disrupt plans and algorithms, those who cause misfortune, i.e. those who trigger the unexpected and undermine the security of the system?

Human nature gives birth to discoverers and inventors, and this is what has enabled a species born immature and slow to reach adulthood to change even the planet that hosts it (I will not mention here its capacity for destruction). Work is a transformative activity, even when carried out for the purpose of preservation. While standards are necessary, the sanitisation of societies and their environment mean the end of life. Geneticist Albert Jacquard (1999) stated that work would continue to exist as long as it was ‘in the sense of living together and giving everyone what they need to have a decent life’.

A decent life, or the meaning of a good life in the Aristotelian sense, is imbued with values, including autonomy and respect for others, service to others and a sense of purpose in work. These values begin with parental education and continue with schooling, ideally extending into all aspects of a citizen's daily life. These words may seem childish and obvious but they put the church back in the centre of the village, so to speak.

The world of education shapes the world of work. The so-called ‘public’ interest requires taking into account the specific needs of individuals, and this cannot be done using statistics and decontextualised recipes.

The classroom is a place of transformation and it should at least remain a physical place. For Albert Jacquard, ‘School is the place where we learn to become ourselves, different from others, but always eager to exchange with the Other’, which he wrote with a capital letter.

Becoming capable, being recognised... Yes, in line with the proverb: ‘If you differ from me, brother, far from harming me, you enrich me.’