John O’Brien
A Brief Note on the Meaning of the Word “Valorization”
John O’Brien – 1994
Wolf Wolfensberger s deeply reaching work gives even a mediocre student an appreciation of the importance of positive imagery, an eye for contradictions between intention and effect, and a disposition to look past explanations about why something is in order to focus concern on the potential effects of what is. And, even superficial reading of his recent work reveals that he names the root system of many dangerous trends as “modernism,” one constituent of which is disbelief in objective truth.In re-defining the principle of normalization, Wolfensberger chose the participial form, valorization, to identify the action required by the principle. A look at the dict ionary suggests that, whatever its merits, the choice of the word “valorization” imports some subtly negative baggage into the work of assisting socially devalued people to establish and maintain socially valued lives.
