End Of Knowing [Paperback]

Fred Newman (Author), Lois Holzman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415135990 | ISBN-13: 978-0415135993 | Publication Date: August 14, 1997

For centuries, knowledge has been thought to be the key to human progress of all kinds and has dominated Western culture. But what if knowing has now become an impediment to further human development? This text is concerned with the practical consideration of how to reconstruct our world when modernist ideas have been refuted and many social problems appear insoluble. The authors suggest that we should give up knowing in favour of "performed activity". They show how to reject the knowing paradigm in practice and present the many positive implications this has for social and educational policy. Over the past two decades, a postmodern critique of the modern conception of knowing and its institutionalized practice has emerged. To many, this is a dangerous threat to the tradition of liberal education, strengthened by recent prestigious voices from the physical and natural sciences. The book challenges even the postmodernists themselves, rejecting the reform of knowing for a totally new performatory form of life. They support their argument with a new reading of Lev Vygotsky and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fred Newman and Lois Holzman are both Directors at the East Side Institute for Short Term Psychotherapy, New York City. Newman is Artistic Director for the Castillo Theatre and Holzman is Director for the Barbara Taylor School. Both are widely published, including their co-authored book Lev Vygotsky: Revolutionary Scientist (Routledge 1993).

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (August 14, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415135990
• ISBN-13: 978-0415135993
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,337,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Startling Glimpses of Who We Are, September 4, 2003

By 

Diane Dickson (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: End Of Knowing (Paperback)

In this book, philosopher-therapist Fred Newman and psychologist-teacher Lois Holzman propose that human development is a social and creative process of building environments which determine who we are and can become. They challenge us to collectively and consciously engage in reshaping our environments as a lifelong, continuous, revolutionary activity of becoming.

I studied this book over the course of a year with a circle of friends. We learned of fascinating research by Soviet psychologist, Lev Vygotsky, on the features of childhood language-learning environments. The authors suggest that we quickly lose contact with our capacity for building environments which make qualitative growth, such as language-learning, possible. What are we doing, they ask, after age five? Who and how are we becoming?

Those interested in things post-modern may be surprised by the perspective that modern science has led us (as a resounding success)to post-modernism. And, some may be curious to hear that these authors do not fret over loss of meaning in post-modern times.

For Newman and Holzman, loss of meaning opens the door for creating/discovering that we are the collective makers of meaning. For them, meaning-making is performance and performing our lives and doing what we don't know how to do. Performance is building the boat as we cross the water. Performance is developing.

This book is rich and dense and filled with startling glimpses of who we the people are and how we the people can perform a lifetime of developing. It is a provocative report from a controversial, experimental community. I recommend The End of Knowing by Fred Newman and Lois Holzman as a challenging companion for any circle of curious friends.