Handiness in Álvaro Vieira Pinto: Situated development of techniques, knowledge and people

Abstract

This paper discusses the development of people, knowledge and techniques by the notion of handiness of Álvaro Vieira Pinto. Handiness is a concept of relationship between consciousness and reality, which understands the existing human being as a being that produces himself ontologically with objects that are “ready-to-hand.” People produce themselves by work and by producing for themselves the materiality of their worlds, they gradually develop more sophisticated relationships. Handiness is a socio-historical framing, always situated in dialectical process of (re)elaboration from the desires of each society, towards their realities. The zero degree emphasizes this point, not defining individuals by the absence, but by the diversity of knowledge and practices that they have. We indicate this concept to the problematization of fundamentals in Technology and Education, to a horizontal understanding of the techniques, which includes the non-contemporaneity of knowledge and skills among different social groups.

Keywords: handiness, technology, education.