So as this class comes to an end, I wish to bring up the idea of what happens after a construction no longer becomes useful and is removed. Is the person aware of the removal of the construct? Does the construct still exist, but is just not in use? What happens to the ones that are discarded through obsolescence?
First we would have to define what an obsolete construct is. I believe that such a construct would have to be a way of interpreting experiences, thoughts, and meanings that is no longer beneficial for the individual and has negative impact on one's life. So in other words it must not contribute anything positive to the persons life, and it must have some kind of negative or limiting effect on the person. constructs that don't add anything positive or negative I would consider not obsolete, because there is still no reason why it should be replaced. So if the only kind of construct that would ever be removed is one that does harm or limits, then the best reason for why it would be removed is to create a new construct that is more beneficial and less limiting.
Now, what happens to these constructs once they are replaced? I would argue that the constructs, upon being discarded, are still memorable for a time, and one can re-activate and use the construct at will, but after a long duration happens one tends to forget how to perceive the world from those lenses and one could not slip into that construct as easily. It is like the construct slowly fades away, leaving only the memory of it. I argue this because if someone goes from seeing the world from a racist construction of reality to a more non-discriminatory one, then the individual will remember what it was like to perceive the world through the other old racist lenses for a while, but given a few years, the individual is likely to say "Oh, I can't believe I used to think that way." And trying to use that construct would prove difficult to truly re-enter.
This is only my theory, but if there is a dissenter, let them be known.
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