Paulo Freire Quotes
Paulo Reglus Neves Freire was a Brazilian educator and philosopher and one of the founders of critical pedagogy. After early work with adult literacy programs among the poor of northeastern Brazil, he developed a method of teaching reading and writing that took the lived experience of the learners as its starting point. The quotes below are attributed to Paulo Freire, organized by topic.
Browse Paulo Freire by topic
Paulo Freire on Freedom
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Attributed to Paulo Freire:
“The oppressed must liberate themselves, and in doing so liberate the oppressors.”
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Attributed to Paulo Freire:
“To exist humanly is to name the world, to change it.”
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“The oppressed, instead of striving for liberation, tend themselves to become oppressors”
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Paulo Freire on Justice
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“Dehumanization , although a concrete historical fact, is not a given destiny but the result of an unjust order that engenders violence in the oppressors, which in turn dehumanizes the oppressed.”
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Paulo Freire on Knowledge
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Attributed to Paulo Freire:
“Education is never neutral; it is either domesticating or liberating.”
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Attributed to Paulo Freire:
“Reading the world precedes reading the word.”
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“The Banking Concept of Education”
Indeed, the interests of the oppressors lie in 'changing the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation which oppresses them. -
“The oppressed find in the oppressors their model of 'manhood.”
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“The behavior of the oppressed is a prescribed behavior, following as it does the guidelines of the oppressor.”
on the oppressed -
“The oppressor, who is himself dehumanized because he dehumanizes others, is unable to lead this struggle.”
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Paulo Freire on Love
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Attributed to Paulo Freire:
“Dialogue is the encounter of those who name the world.”
Paulo Freire on Mind
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“Indeed, the interests of the oppressors lie in 'changing the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation which oppresses them.”
The Banking Concept of Education -
“They have no consciousness of themselves as persons or as members of an oppressed class.”
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Paulo Freire on Politics
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“The oppressors, who oppress, exploit, and rape by virtue of their power, cannot find in this power the strength to liberate either the oppressed or themselves.”
on the oppressors
Paulo Freire on Time
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“This book will present some aspects of what the writer has termed the pedagogy of the oppressed, a pedagogy which must be forged with , not for , the oppressed (whether individuals or peoples) in the incessant struggle to regain their humanity.”
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