Differntiating reflexivity

Introduction

Reflexivity is a contentious term. Academics may value it highly relating it to critical thinking. However, even some scholars doubt it as virtue simply because reflexivity is a quality that is beyond conscious control: there is no one who is not reflexive. Discussions on reflexivity, thus, seem to have reached a dead end. It is, however, not the case. Reflexivty is one of critical characters of humanity. Hence, it is invoked by humans in practice especially for confirming their respective uniqueness.

When a term appears to be suffering from contentious definitions, it had better be redefined. Reflexivity is actually not one and the same in its being practiced. The virtuous reflexivity concerns creativity or values-added. In contrast, the less meaningful one is pure tautology.

The former is, however, tautological, too. Innovation is known to be emerging, rather unpredictably, from routines or repetitive practices. A critical difference resides in the purposes of making tautologies. While the less meaningful one aims to strengthen validity or definitiveness of identities by accumulating rigorous evidence, the tautological processes orientated towards values-added are sensible to the dual meanings underlying identities, that is, sameness and uniqueness.

Due to the duality of the meanings entailed in an identity, the seemingly simple practice of identification is always ambiguous. More critically, the ambiguities are inevitably settled by effects of power. Although power also operates reflexively, meaning that even the less powerful are supposed to accept, even if covertly, their own powerlessness, it is obvious that definitions and/or meanings are liable to be dominated by the more powerful. Unless addressing those structures and processes concerning the simple practice of identification, it would not be possible to materialize a fairer and more democratic society.

Becoming reflexive in the virtuous terms is the key to changing the world for the better. By looking closely at the practice of identification, we would be able to learn holistically how to live happier lives by taking into consideration the significance of rigorous scientific methods, ethics by speaking to one another as frankly as possible, the inevitable anticipation and invocation for luck, and the never eliminable ambiguities over sameness and uniqueness in relation to exchanges and human innate morality.