Reflexivity is the intellectual action by which one is aware of something. Whoever carries out this mental process carries out a reflection, that is, a deep analysis of a situation.
The concept of reflexivity implies that the individual who thinks about something not only has a series of ideas but is also fully aware of them and, in some way, thinks his thoughts, that is, reflects.
The role of epistemology in the study of reflexivity
Philosophy is the branch of knowledge that deals especially with one’s own thought and there is a specific discipline, the theory of knowledge or epistemology. In other words, epistemology deals with analyzing why we think as we think (mental mechanisms or processes, the origin of ideas, their rational foundation, etc). In this way, epistemology is the discipline that is responsible for understanding human reason through reflexivity.
Reflexivity as an intellectual process also occurs in the field of psychology and in any other field in which an analysis is carried out on the content of a subject (for example, of the methodology used).
We all practice reflectivity
Consciously or unconsciously, each person reflects on their reflections in their own way. The most frequent way to do it is through introspection, which would be a self-analysis of the states of the human mind.
Reflexivity is produced by a need to analyze our behavior and our ideas. It could be said that it is impossible not to be reflective at some point, since this faculty is natural to man and is what distinguishes us from other animals.
Keeping the door open to new ideas
In any human context, reflexivity acts as a necessary and very convenient mechanism. This mental process expresses that we don’t always accept ideas (even our own) because they may be wrong or because there may be better ones. Thus, if someone renounces reflexivity, they act impulsively (reflexivity and impulsivity would be antagonistic terms).
Reflexivity is a form of critical thinking, because when we meditate on some concepts we are already beginning to doubt them. As critical thinking, what is fundamental is not what we think or the specific data that we handle, but a reflection on all of this.
When in everyday language we say that we want to rethink something, we are announcing that we intend to weigh and meditate on some ideas and, therefore, we will carry out a critical analysis based on reflexivity.
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