Paragraph: “Dynamic objectivity is thus a pursuit of knowledge that makes use of subjective experience (Piaget calls it consciousness of self) in the interests of a more effective objectivity. Premised on continuity, it recognizes differences between self and other as an opportunity for a deeper and more articulated kinship. The struggle to disentangle self from other is itself a source of insight—potentially into the nature of both self and other. It is a principle means for divining what Poinearé calls ‘hidden harmonies and relations.’ To this end, the scientist employs a form of attention to the natural world that is like one’s ideal attention to the human world: it is a form of love. The capacity for such attention, like the capacity for love and empathy, requires a sense of self secure enough to tolerate both difference and continuity; it presupposes the development of dynamic autonomy.” (117-118)
Word: Femininity. Modern conceptions of femininity arose during the bubonic plague in medieval England (1300s). After the plague (and the death of around half the population), traditional gender roles changed and new opportunities for women arose – previously, terms referred to women’s traditional roles: maiden, wife, widow. The first known recording of the word femininity was by Chaucer in 1380.
Williams, Tara (2011). Inventing Womanhood: Gender and Language in Later Middle English Writing.