Some Notes on the Relevance of Philosophy to Education

This article discusses the relevance of philosophy to education. More specifically, it asks what it means to speak of a relevance relationship here. Two ways of conceiving this relationship are discussed. First, proposed views of the relevance of philosophy to education generally embody a foundational view of the relationship, expressed in terms of education as resting on philosophy such that support runs in one direction only. Second, a non-foundational relationship is discussed, a relationship that entails mutual dependence of philosophy and education, such that philosophy loses its status as basic.     

Celebrating Moderate Dualism in the Philosophy of Education: A Reflection on the Hirst‐Carr Debate

The position of the philosophy of education in theoretical or practical philosophy was the main subject of debate between Paul Hirst and Wilfred Carr. In his support for practical philosophy, Carr argues that in order to bridge the theory/practice gap and deconstruct the illusory intactness of philosophy of education from developments in the practical realm, philosophy of education should be assumed as a branch of practical philosophy. Opposed to this argument, Hirst holds that philosophy of education is a second‐order activity and a theoretical matter. Even though both viewpoints seem to be reductive, it is argued here that the controversy of Hirst and Carr on theoretical/practical philosophy of education is more a pseudo‐problem than a real one. This is because Hirst does not dismiss the reflection on action as a source of philosophical knowledge, nor does Carr in fact avoid a second‐order activity in his endeavour in philosophy of education. Nonetheless, it is argued that we should celebrate a moderate dualism in the case of theoretical and practical reason.     

Getting the Distance Right: Ideal and Nonideal Theory in Philosophy of Education

When the debate over the value of ideal and nonideal theory crosses from political philosophy into philosophy of education, do the implications of the debate shift, and, if so, how? In this piece, Amy Shuffelton considers the premise that no normative political theory, ideal or nonideal, is of any use to human beings unless it can be affiliated with a credible educational theory that connects human beings as they are to human beings as that theory requires them to become. In her response to the five articles in this symposium, Shuffelton addresses their overlapping yet varied treatments of human subjectivity as developed through education. If one accepts that ideal theory is the appropriate starting place for political philosophy because otherwise we would have no polestar by which to orient ourselves, Shuffelton concludes, a corresponding philosophy of education is required to survey the trajectory between here and wherever one aims to go. To do so, it needs to keep its feet on the ground, even as it looks to the stars. If, on the other hand, ideal theory fails to heed the Yankee truism that you can't get there from here, such that philosophers who attempt to do so inevitably get lost on back roads, philosophy of education is still necessary to chart paths to reachable destinations.     

教育哲学的实践性之思

当前教育哲学理论研究和实践应用中存在着诸多问题。具体表现为,运用演绎的方法所导致的对教育哲学理论的片面化认识,以及由此所引发的教育哲学的合法性问题和存在危机。这些问题反映在实践应用中表现为教育哲学对实践指导(应用)的无能为力。从理论建构和实践性的表达方式两个方面分析实践性对于教育哲学的合法性、理论化以及整个教育科学发展的重要意义,有助于这一问题的解决。因为人类的认识总是以特定生活场景中的现象作为研究的起点,并最终又回到生活的场景中。一切指向终极性的研究主题都被具体化在不同时代的不同问题当中,都无可避免地接受着实践和现实问题的检验。     

《理想国》的国家观、教育观

柏拉图是西方文明的先哲和巨人,他的巨著《理想国》是西方政治哲学和教育理论的经典之作。书中强调实现国家正义与个人灵魂的正义,重视教育的积极作用。《理想国》中的国家观和教育观对西方世界的政治、教育产生了深远的影响。本文着力探究《理想国》的国家观和教育观及其对现实的积极意义。     

Emptiness and the Education of the Emotions

This article argues that Buddhist philosophy offers a plausible theory of the education of the emotions. Emotions are analyzed as cognitive feeling events in which the subject is passive. The education of the emotions is possible if and only if it is possible to evaluate one’s emotional life (the normative condition) and it is possible to satisfy the normative condition through learning (the pedagogical condition). Drawing on the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, as well as the concepts of conditioned arising, emptiness and anattā, the article presents a view of the education of the emotions that rejects craving for permanence.     

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION AS PHILOSOPHY: A METAPHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY

Abstract What is the philosophical status of the philosophy of education? Is it philosophy, no different from the philosophy of science and the philosophy of mind? Much depends on where these latter derive their philosophical bona fides from. There are two ways of viewing the matter. On one account, they are subdivisions of the veritable philosophy branches of metaphysics and epistemology. It being impossible to view philosophy of education as comparably emanating from any of the philosophical originals, this approach effectively deprives it of proper philosophical standing. On the other account, nonoriginal philosophy branches may be viewed as attaining philosophihood, each on its own. Such a purview provides the maneuverability needed to countenance the philosophical nature of philosophy of education as well. Still, George Pollack argues in this essay that if it is to fully accommodate philosophy of education, philosophy will need to be reconceived to include the unearthing of the philosophical foundations of a social practice.     

Ambidextrous Scholarship: A Review Essay

This essay reviews three recent works in the field of philosophy of education, each of which brings the work of a major philosophical thinker to bear on contemporary topics within education: Michael Peters, ed., Heidegger, Education, and Modernity ; Randall Curren, Aristotle on the Necessity of Public Education ; and Mordechai Gordon, ed., Hannah Arendt and Education . I argue that these works are representative of a current trend in educational philosophers' ideas, including their political, social, and ethical philosophy. This approach to philosophy of education differs in significant ways from past approaches, in which the connection between philosophy and education was conceived narrowly. In the works under consideration here, education is not understood as an isolated field that is connected to philosophy only through a concerted effort; rather, education is understood as a presence within the broad constellation of philosophical questions. These books therefore not only shed light on educational matters, but they also demonstrate an elegant way to bring together theory and practice, mind and body, philosophy and education.     

论坚持合规律性的教育观

坚持马克思哲学的规律观是坚持合规律性教育观的前提和基础，坚持合规律性的教育观在新时期突出地表现为坚持以课堂教学为主的教育观，坚持教学以传授间接经验为主的教育观，坚持教育源于生活更高于生活的教育观。这既是人类教育思想史的合乎逻辑的一种推演，也是被千百年人类教育实践反复证明的客观规律。     

Virtue Epistemology and the Philosophy of Education

This article initially provides a brief overview of virtue epistemology; it thereafter considers some possible ramifications of this branch of the theory of knowledge for the philosophy of education. The main features of three different manifestations of virtue epistemology are first explained. Importantly, it is then maintained that developments in virtue epistemology may offer the resources to critique aspects of the debate between Hirst and Carr about how the philosophy of education ought to be carried out and by whom. Wilfred Carr's position—that educational practitioners have privileged access to philosophical knowledge about teaching practice—will in particular be questioned. It will be argued that Carr's view rests on a form of epistemology, internalism, which places unreasonably narrow restrictions upon the range of actors and ways, in which philosophical knowledge of and/or for education might be achieved. In declaring that practical wisdom regarding teaching is ‘entirely dependent’ on practitioner reflection, Carr not only radically deviates from Aristotle's notion of practical wisdom, he also, in effect, renders redundant all philosophical research about education that is not initiated by teachers in this manner. It is concluded that Aristotle's general approach to acquiring information and knowledge about the world might yet still offer a foundation for a more comprehensive philosophy of education; one that makes clear that the professional testimony and reflection of teachers, observation of teaching practice, and already existing educational philosophy, theory and policy can all be perceived as potentially valuable sources of philosophical knowledge of and for education.     

对马克思主义哲学教学改革的反思

十多年的马克思主义哲学教学改革收效甚微。以往的教改失误在哪里呢?经过反思,笔者认为:应对高等教育的目标和马克思主义哲学的教学目的重新进行审视。审视的结果是在高等教育中应以人文素质教育为根本,在马克思主义哲学教学中则应以引领学生进入哲学思考、树立正确的世界观、人生观、价值观为根本目的。唯其如此,马克思主义哲学教学改革才能走出困境。     

论现代数学哲学的发展及其教育意义

数学哲学对数学教育有着深刻的影响。首先回顾了数学哲学的发展 ,明确了现在数学哲学中的数学观由绝对主义向可误主义的转变 ,接着论述了数学哲学对数学教育诸方面所产生的影响 ,最后列举了新的数学观点对现代数学教育的影响。     

Joseph Priestley Across Theology, Education, and Chemistry: An Interdisciplinary Case Study in Epistemology with a Focus on the Science Education Context

This paper discusses the findings of a search for the intellectual tools used by Joseph Priestley (1733?C1804) in his chemistry, education, and theology documents. Priestley??s enquiring democratic view of knowledge was applicable in all three areas and constitutes a significant part of his lifework. Current epistemological issues in science education are examined from the point of view of the nature of theory and experiment as observed in Priestley??s writings and as espoused in modern philosophy of science. Science and religious faith issues in the context of science education are examined from the point of view of one??s understanding of sacred texts, and the suggestion is made that a Priestleyan model of ??the liberty to think for oneself?? and ??to hold knowledge with humility and virtue?? could prove helpful in dealing with the known divergent opinions in relation to science, education, and religion.     

Educational non-philosophy

Abstract

The final lines of Deleuze and Guattari’s What is Philosophy? call for a non-philosophy to balance and act as a counterweight to the task of philosophy that had been described by them in terms of concept creation. In a footnote, Deleuze and Guattari mention François Laruelle’s project of non-philosophy, but dispute its efficacy in terms of the designated relationship between non-philosophy and science, as had been realised by Laruelle at the time. However, the mature non-philosophy of Laruelle could indicate a resolution to the problematic relationship between science and educational philosophy that we have inherited due to the poststructural theories of Foucault, Derrida and Deleuze. Non-philosophy suggests a framework for thought that includes science in a non-positivist style and provides the means to view education as a performative practice. This article explores the non-philosophy of Laruelle in education as a means to view education under the conditions of strict immanence and in line with an anti-phenomenological metaphysics of non-representation. Laruelle is perhaps one of the most important critics of Deleuze in France, and as such, his insights into the Deleuzian oeuvre reveal a way forward for education as a practice that analyses science, philosophy and politics through non-philosophy.     

Education and the Educational Project I: the atmosphere of post-modernism

The paper deals with the way postmodernism has been discussed within philosophy of education and argued for by some authors within this context, and with what this kind of postmodernism can offer to education and to philosophy of education. Particular attention is paid to one of the basic presuppositions, namely the requirement to break with the cultural heritage and look for radical alternatives. A second paper will develop a different view of human action, following the later Wittgenstein, and draw on Frankfurt's ideas on'the importance of what we care about' to revitalise the conception of the educational project.     

试论人文主义与科学主义在西方高等教育中的冲突与整合

人文主义和科学主义作为哲学史上的两大哲学流派对高等教育可谓影响深远。从历史演进的角度来看,这两种哲学观在西方高等教育实践中大致经历了混沌期、冲突期和整合期。鉴于对二者矛盾的整合和协调将是一个长期的理论探索与实践过程,在审视两种哲学观在西方高等教育发展进程中的历史变迁的基础上,分析二者在高等教育发展中的一体化、冲突、整合的实践特征,进而探讨当代科学教育和人文教育整合所面临的挑战及对策。     

Education and Empty Relationality: Thoughts on Education and the Kyoto School of Philosophy

This article builds on the growing literature on the Kyoto School of Philosophy and its influences on the field of Education. First, I argue that the influence of the Kyoto School of Philosophy is historically significant in Japan, and that the connection between this philosophical school and the philosophy of education is by no means superficial. Second, I suggest that this school contributes a unique view of ‘negative education’ founded in the philosophical idea of ‘nothingness’. I examine how this negative education is manifest both in religious cultivation and in more general views of education, and I develop these ideas through the models of self‐negation proposed by Nishitani Keiji and Hisamatsu Shin'ichi. Third, taking up the Herbartian idea of ‘pedagogical tact’, I analyse the characteristics of the I‐Thou relationship, in the vector of nothingness, implicit in the above‐mentioned view of education. I examine two approaches to this relationship—one of ‘sharing in nothingness’ as found in Nishitani and Hisamatsu, and one that goes beyond the idea of ‘sharing’ and accommodates alterity, as found in Nishida Kitarô and Nishihira Tadashi. By threshing out these three points, I hope to highlight the continued pedagogical relevance of the philosophical ideas of the Kyoto School.     

生存哲学视野中的自由教育

雅斯贝尔斯教育哲学的理论核心是“生存”,他的“自由”本质上是指内在自由和内在权威相统一的“生存的自由”。基于“生存本体论”的自由观,教育被定位于一种生存交往活动,自由是大学教育最重要的因素。生存自由在教育实践中强调求知意志,使“理性”和“非理性”相结合,要把大学建成“生存共同体”,并在传统的陶冶中纳入“科学性”。