Interpreting Reality through Irony to promote a Culture of Peace

Abstract

Conflict starts from a different, subjective and, apparently, irreconcilable reading of the same reality, thus contravening the third axiom of communication, according to which different interpretations of what happens in reality are created and modified according to the role and point of view of the observer. This means that reality is not only a social construction, but also a subjective construction by an individual unable to observe it from other points of view. Acting on those processes that lead to a set of knowledge being regarded as a self-evident and objective fact could change our perception of the world. At the pedagogical level, it would imply a deconstruction of reality and of the culture of conflict that often clandestinely and implicitly dominates the places within which individuals act, primarily the formal, nonformal and informal places of education. Starting from these assumptions, this paper will present the pedagogical category of irony, understood as a cognitive and personal attitude to introduce into the subject’s formative process in order to work on his or her forma mentis, and re-accustom him or her to questioning, exercising doubt, decentring and suspending judgement. These attitudes are necessary to promote a dialogical look at the world that is capable of recognizing the other and hence perceiving self and other as us.