Rumbling on performativity_Frits Simon

Reading an account of heated discussions (O'Flynn, 2005), I cannot help reliving my
experiences. I have developed an allergy for this kind of situations, which at its turn
still stimulates my ability to sort out subjects in trying to stay focussed. I also realize
that by acting this way I force other people to act rationally according to my
standards. In younger years I did this because of my competence and a certain authority
I gained. Later on also because of the power related to my position as a managing
director.
Encapsulated in books and reflection
As a lecturer I read a lot, sometimes I published an article or a book. Apart from lecturing
I was for example involved in the development of courseware for philosophy, in
the introduction of the accreditation system in the UAS and in several projects for the
improvement of our courses. Alongside my lectures I started to work on a PhD which
was initiated through a curiosity for the conceptual similarities between cognitive
sciences and the French post-structuralism. I sensed that cognitivism could offer a
possibility of connecting the historical and power analysis of Foucault (1925 – 1984)
with the tangible opinions of people. I never finished this PhD-project but I got trained
in taking a historical and genetic position towards concepts of science and philosophy.
Owing to reading the history of ideas in archaeology, evolution theory, psychology and
biology and the history of technology I approach theories in the context of broad
societal and scientific developments unwilling to isolate them as part of non-historical
scientific or philosophical discourses. The life of scientists and the concepts of their
science, in fact the life of every human being, are to be read as convergences of societal
developments.
Because of my interpretation of Foucault (1975) emancipation had gained a radical but
impossible notion of absolute freedom. Meddlesome interference of authorities,
institutions or big companies was not acceptable. Privacy became canonized. A good
illustration is the battle I fought with the staff members of the infant care of my
daughter Sanne (born 1983). As parents we did not want that her dossier was handed
over to the healthcare in the primary school, worried that early labels about her
condition would influence evaluations later on in her life. Not used as the medical staff
was to independent clients and convinced of their superior intentions, it took some
discussions, but the dossier was emptied. One Big Brother down!
The first book I wrote is a reflection on the irrationality of human beings. The book
was about the confrontations between social workers and clients, by deconstructing
their discourses in a historical setting as an interaction in which all parties practice
micro-power based on their different default assumptions (Simon, 1996). In the revised
edition the strong power dimensions were replaced by a quasi-neutral cognitive way
of explaining interactions (Simon, 2000). In the books I am focused on the pragmatic
effects of language, as language is ingrained in history and regulates the way people
interpret everyday life. Interaction is a matter of historical variation and socialization
instead of rational decision making. Actually I did what was meant in my PhD-project
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