Attaining a better society: critical reflections on what it means to be 'developed'

Matthews, Sally

Title: Attaining a better society: critical reflections on what it means to be 'developed'
Creator: Matthews, Sally
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, pdf
Language: English
Relation: Theoria, Matthews, S., 2005. Attaining a Better Society: Critical reflections on what it means to be 'developed'. Theoria, 52(106), pp.93-118., 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)

RU Department of Political and International Studies

SDG 10. Reduced Inequalities

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