Freire's Understanding of History, Current Reality, And Future Aspirations: His Dream, Take on Ethics, And Pedagogy of Solidarity‪.‬

Paulo Freire's work can assist nearly anyone as she or he seeks to interpret history, to obtain a handle on the present, and to foresee the future. His ideas were impregnated with ontological hope, foundational understandings of our society and transformational empowerment. Thus, this article examines critically an interview I had with Paulo Freire in an effort to identify the relevance of his principles for our different realities and struggles today. Some of the questions I raised were brought up to clarify ideas that I encountered in my personal experiences in the academic community or in my university teachings. Freire had a great influence in my academic upbringing and development. He was without any doubt my major inspiration. In 1997, when I was getting ready to start writing my doctoral dissertation, I felt the need to seek mentoring by Paulo. By coincidence it just happened that I had a unique opportunity to dialogue and interview him in his residence in Sao Paulo, Brazil.