What is Praxis:
The word praxis comes from Greek and translates as ‘action’ or ‘practice’. It is usually used in the professional and academic fields to refer to the passage from speculation to practice or to the dialectical relationship between both concepts respectively.
The term praxis, in this sense, is linked to the word theory, either as opposition or as a complementary principle.
According to the school of thought or the field in which it is used, praxis can be understood in two ways:
as the materialization of theoretical speculation (for example, professional praxis); as the concrete practice of historical life (actions, decisions, movements, etc.) from which it is generated theorythat is, frameworks for interpreting reality that allow its transformation.
In the first case, praxis validates knowledge; In the second, praxis generates knowledge, which is why it has a transformative action in the life of man and society. This last sense is the one that approaches the philosophy of praxis Marxist.
Praxis in philosophy
In the humanistic and social sciences field, we speak of philosophy of praxis to refer to the Marxist schools of thought and other later schools that not only rethink the relationship between theory and praxis, but also make praxis their category. fundamental.
According to some researchers, Karl Marx was the first to consider, from a philosophical point of view, the fact that praxis determines theoretical activity and not the other way around, so that the observation and study of social practices are what allow generate theoretical bodies based on the material variables of history and with a view to transformation.
In an article titled “The philosophy of praxis as a new practice of philosophy”, the thinker Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez maintains that Marxism:
It rejects that the fundamental problem of philosophy is the relationship between matter and spirit (ontology); it rejects being seen as a new theoretical practice (epistemology) and, finally, it denies being based on an abstract concept of man (anthropological-humanist).
From there, Sánchez Vázquez explains that the philosophy of praxis “is about transforming the world (project or goal) based on a critique and knowledge of what exists” (Political Notebooksnumber 12, Era editorial, Mexico City, April-June, 1977).
See also:
Praxis in education
The expression educational praxis refers to a teaching approach that conceives education as an activity not limited to institutions.
This implies that if on the one hand it recognizes the autonomy of teaching, on the other it understands that education is inserted in the fabric of social praxis, and, therefore, not only allows itself to be transformed by reality but must transform it.
Praxis in psychology
In the field of psychology, praxis theory is known as an approach to psychological analysis born in Mexico in the second half of the 20th century, which understands praxis as an encompassing phenomenon, that is, it involves all types of activity. human, including psychological, such as the ability to dream, imagine, remember, memorize or reflect.
Thus, the theory of praxis rejects the evaluative approach to praxis, which reduces the concept to mere empirical practice, to theoretical-practical congruence or to revolutionary actions of historical transformation.
Professional praxis
We speak of professional praxis to refer to the process by which a professional puts into practice the theoretical principles studied throughout their training. For example, medical praxis, legal praxis, etc.
Bad practice
Malpractice refers to errors of action, omission, carelessness or negligence, committed by a professional in the exercise of their profession, which cause harm to the people who receive their services (clients, patients, students, etc.).
Medicine is the profession most exposed in this sense, and, therefore, the expression medical malpractice is frequently heard.
However, malpractice is also seen in careers where a professional error can affect people’s lives. For example, law, psychology, accounting, civil engineering, architecture, etc.
In any case, and especially in medicine, Malpractice entails civil and criminal liability of the professional.
In the very particular case of medical practice, an act of malpractice can range from medication errors to physical damage during a surgical intervention, which can cause irreversible health problems or even death.
Moral and ethical praxis
Just as there is a professional praxis, whose level of performance is qualified and from which civil and legal responsibility is generated, there is also praxis in the fields of ethics and morality.
Moral and ethical praxis arises from an individual’s ability to discern between what can be done because it is accepted by society and what cannot be done because it causes collateral damage to individuals or the social group.
See also Ethics and morals.