The Vantage Point of the Oppressed: A Superior Standpoint for Understanding and Interpreting the Social World in Terms of Unique Knowledge Structures

Abstract

The practical and philosophical understanding of the mind of the oppressed is an intricate one that involves many different themes. Yet it is one that is central to the study of sociology and exposes to us the human side of society from an individual and a group perspective. So what can we learn from the oppressed? Can oppression promote the drive to try to liberate oneself and, in doing so, enlighten us on aspects of the human condition that will aid our approach to understanding a broader social world‐view? What are the experiences of the oppressed that can teach us more about the pragmatics and the ideologies of social dynamics? The argument put forward in this paper is that the perspective of the oppressed provides a superior vantage point for understanding and interpreting the social world. But in order to have a clear understanding of why this is the case, we must start with a definition of what exactly constitutes to be oppressed.

Citation

Choudhury, M. (2004), "The Vantage Point of the Oppressed: A Superior Standpoint for Understanding and Interpreting the Social World in Terms of Unique Knowledge Structures", Humanomics, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 58-65. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb018896