Freire, Wittgenstein and the Critical Being

In what ways do Paulo Freire and Ludwig Wittgenstein show us how to develop a person’s criticality? What connections are there to be made between the Delphic maxims, ‘Know thyself’ and ‘Nothing overmuch’, Freire’s notion of conscientização and Wittgenstein’s position on encouraging others to think for themselves? I argue that an appreciation of the Freirean notion of conscientização is key to the critical being developing his or her own criticality. And I argue that the Wittgensteinian conception of thinking for one’s self is of fundamental significance. My exploration into Freire and Wittgenstein’s ideas serves to broaden our epistemological and ontological horizons.