- Title
- Attaining a better society: critical reflections on what it means to be 'developed'
- Creator
- Matthews, Sally
- Date Issued
- 2005
- Date
- 2005
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142509
- Identifier
- vital:38086
- Identifier
- DOI: 10.3167/004058105780929228
- Description
- It is clear from these and other definitions that development, no matter how it is conceived, involves change. However, it is also clear that not all change constitutes development. A particular change could be part of a process of development, but could also be part of several other processes, such as those of alteration, modification, deformation, adaptation, regression, degradation and the like. Thus it is necessary to differentiate between changes that can be said to be part of a process of development, and those that cannot. In an attempt to make such a distinction and in line with the above-mentioned definitions of development one could say that changes that are part of development are changes that bring about increased likeness to some more advanced or better state of being. A six-year-old child who, after years of talking, becomes mute is regressing rather than developing; and a child whose behaviour changes such that she begins to act like a dog would be considered to be in some kind of disordered state. However, when a child’s behaviour undergoes changes that lead to increased similarity to some conception of adult behaviour, then that child can be said to be developing. When assessing whether changes in a child’s behaviour constitute development, or some other kind of process, one has to have in mind some conception of what the child ought to be becoming.
- Format
- 16 pages
- Format
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Theoria
- Relation
- Matthews, S., 2005. Attaining a Better Society: Critical reflections on what it means to be 'developed'. Theoria, 52(106), pp.93-118.
- Relation
- Theoria volume 52 number 106 93 118 2005 1558-5816
- Rights
- Publisher
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Berghann Independent Publishing Terms and Conditions Statement (https://www.berghahnjournals.com/page/terms/terms-conditions)
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Matthews, Sally (Prof)
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Attaining a better society.pdf | 625 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |