Free Range Imagination (FRI) is governed by a unique philosophy that has been developed through a lifetime of questioning, reflection, and critical thinking. While this philosophy shares some similarities with Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, it was arrived at through a different line of thinking. The central tenet of this philosophy is the belief that there is no such thing as objective right and wrong. This belief has far-reaching implications for how we interact with the world around us.
One important consequence of this belief is that our actions cannot be classified as good or bad, and the same is true for the actions of others. In order to navigate this world without objective right and wrong, we must engage in listening to understand.
Listening to understand is a specific type of listening that involves actively trying to comprehend the perspective and experiences of another person, rather than simply reacting to their words or trying to persuade them to adopt our own viewpoint. This is distinct from empathetic listening, which involves trying to feel and understand the emotions of another person, and critical listening, which involves evaluating and analyzing the information being presented. When we listen to understand, we seek to learn about the “rights and wrongs” that govern the behavior of an individual, community, or any combination thereof. By listening to understand, we can help others recognize that their own “rights and wrongs” are simply adopted opinions that may or may not be relevant to their lives and are not based on any objective truth.
“In order to navigate this world without objective right and wrong, we must engage in listening to understand.”
This process of listening to understand is not about finding objective right and wrong, but rather about co-constructing and creating a shared subjective reality filled with “rights and wrongs” that have been agreed upon through critical thinking and conscious reflection, rather than through indoctrination or by virtue of birth. This subjective reality should not be treated as objective, but rather as subjective and open to evaluation, discussion, and renewal.
At FRI, we approach the world with this philosophy in mind, acting as if objective right and wrong do not exist and listening to understand in order to have discussions that go beyond mere opinion. We do not seek to indoctrinate communities into a particular subjective reality, and we do not judge the actions of others as right or wrong. Instead, we strive to co-create a shared subjective reality through critical thinking and conscious reflection.
This approach informs our educational programs and guides our interactions with others. By treating others with the respect and openness that listening to understand entails, we can foster more meaningful and productive conversations and relationships. We believe that this philosophy can help create a more just and equitable world, where individuals are able to live lives that are authentic and meaningful to them, rather than being constrained by external expectations or objective notions of right and wrong.
