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Re: Self-unfolding? (was: Re: [ox-en] Free time)




Hi Stefan, hi list,

Stefan Meretz wrote:

Graham Seaman wrote:

 > This is a picky little point away from the main issue, but is it
 > possible to find a replacement for the word 'self-unfolding'? It
 > sounds bizarre in English - I assume it means something like
 > self-development, but it conjures up images of a piece of paper with
 > a clockwork mechanism inside for me.

What the hell is a piece of paper with a clockwork mechanism inside??
This is your "running dog" (from below)?

I guess I can answer this, because I had very similar associations on
reading the word for the first time. "Unfolding" sounds like unfolding a
paper, for example a letter folded to fit into an envelope.
Self-unfolding sounds like a paper that... unfolds itself. I understand
that's where Graham's idea of a clockwork mechanism comes from-- after
all, there must be something *in* the paper that makes it unfold... :-)

See e.g.
    http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=unfolding

I would say the problem is that "unfolding" is simply not the same as
"Entfaltung" in German. It's rather like translating "Entwicklung" as
"unwinding" instead of "development." I can't think of a good
alternative off the top of my head, but I do think that we should find a
better term. (I think Benni's idea of using selbstentfaltung in English
works if we want to sound academic ;-). But on the other hand, then we
couldn't use it as a verb-- "to entfalten yourself" sounds... awkward :))

Now the question of the right word. I can not decide that, I don't have
a good "english speaking feeling". My question is: Feels
"self-development" for you more like the first (...on costs...) or like
the second explanation (...precondition...)? Maybe neither nor, because
nobody else think in a way we do in Oekonux;-)

An interesting point is that one of the translations of "Entfaltung" in
my dictionary is "development." But I can't answer the question whether
self-development means the right thing, either.

If "self-development" sound yuppie-like as self realization in new
economy, I would prefer a new unusual term e.g. self-unfolding. A new
term can be a provocation to lead one to some good questions.

Yes, but maybe we can find a more intuitive one than self-unfolding?

- Benja
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http://www.oekonux.org/


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