Beyond the margins of neoliberalism: Biological and Neurological Foundations of Action Research

This text maintains that the presuppositions of individualistic empiricism have been instrumental for the neoliberal revolution, which turns supposed aggressiveness and natural selfishness into a foundation of society. The combination of science that denies the relational, emotional and subjective nature of humans with the naturalisation of individualism and competition as supposed bases of human behaviour combine to hinder Action Research’s aim of “self-determination” (Fricke, 2018). However, true relational parameters, located in and empathic with the living, fit perfectly with the assumptions of AR. Therefore, we explain how discoveries in biology not only show that the bases of Action Research are not heretical from a scientific point of view, but that they fit in perfectly with the true parameters of behaviour identified by the life sciences.